Silence Upon Fallen Stone
[[Machinations of the Malicious|'⇦']] Prologue |[[Adumbration of the Unspeaking|'Index']]| Chapter two ⇨ Nightfall approximated the lands and covered it entirely with its seductive shadows. Noiseless it was in the hideout of the rising organization. Footsteps of fellow allied echoed throughout the halls. Soft murmurs and laughs reached the ears of the one that secluded itself from socializing. Its face was bare to be seen by anyone and the mask on its nightstand. The usually masked did not fear that someone would dare to peek on him. After all, the spirits that wandered around in the hallway would alert anyone that dared to approach his door room, the wanders where his personal, invisible guards. But even they remained quiet. Whispers from beyond the door alerted the unmasked. Silence erupted once more followed by a stern knock on the door. Sighing deeply the unmasked reached out for the mask that he had placed on the nightstand and slowly but hesitantly placed the mask onto his face. “What do you want, Takashi-kun?” The hoarse voice questioned, thickly layered that misshapes the frequency of the used tones. As Takashi approached Shihakushi's quarters an unearthly twinge of anxiety ran through his spine. While a ghastly uneasiness had emanated from the masked individual since their first meeting, there was a particular concentration around its domain. Despite still acclimating to the strange radial effect, he had come to identify the sensation as more of a forced response than a natural one. Stranger yet was the unsuspected response as he knocked upon the door, not from himself but the blade safely secured to his body. While he sword was far from mundane in craftsmanship, the reverberations it emanated as his hand struck the door only sought to deepen the mystery of his newly acquainted partner. The as inquiry passed through the door the swordsman responded in a timely fashion, though he was personally impressed that his identity was ascertained so quickly. "Shihakushi-dono, as per our orders to handle the Gobi, our transportation to the mainland has been secured," Takashi begins formally, waiting patiently outside of his charge's room. "To that end, our passage on this ship is a secondary concern at best for the vessel. Therefore, time is of the essence, as the ship will surely be departing soon." Bed dipped as the masked had been lying on it for a long resting period. Tiredness had evaded his mind and body from the restless nights. Preparing the essentials for whatever he would need to face, eventually. In return of the long rest, Shihakushi regained the energy to properly move around again, and especially with the upcoming mission with his partner. Alarmed and awake now that Shihakushi was sure that it was Takashi that had come to his quarters, the masked padded his feet onto the ground, pressing himself off the comfortable bed with his hands. With muffled noises the masked neared the door and seeped his slim fingers around the doorknob and swung the door open, as well managing to fling the cloak, the opposite way than it should be worn, around its figure, at the same time. Shihakushi felt a sudden rush of anxiety with his partner nearby. It was by no meaning his partner exactly, but rather the spiritual power that the sword radiated. Ignoring the burning sensation that threatened to overpower its body the masked pushed the imagines away. It was fear and anguish of the past. Something that will remain carved into the mind and memories. “Then we should move then,” Shihakushi brushed off with the similar tone usage as before, however, this time more with an authorities tone and a bit of annoyance. “Unless you have a faster transport for us...” For a moment Takashi sports a puzzled look at his senior's suggestion before answering "We happen to be lucky, due to the recent declaration of war, the Land of Water has called back a majority of their patrols on the archipelago around their territory," he beings, as he begins to make his way down the hall, "As such, our ship will be taking a much more direct route to the mainland then was previously proposed." Making it to the end of the hall, Takashi peered out into the darkness of the base, silently noting the lack of personnel in the facility. The other squads seem to have already departed for their various missions, leaving himself and Shihakushi one of the few people in the hideout. "So, I imagine Tsuzura-sama detailed you on the specifics on our outing. If you don't mind, Shihakushi-dono, I would appreciate being filled in on this information as well. It will make it all the much easier to protect you during this ordeal," he humbly explained to his lord. Silence slipped in between the pair. Questions of the taller man remained unanswered. Nerves tickled the smaller one, the masked one. Not that it helped that strains of darkish hair danced down in front of the strange eye holes of the masked. With slim fingers covered by the thick gloves the masked had tucked the annoying and wild strains of hair back under the hoodie of the cloak, which Shihakushi wore wrongly. But the leader, Tsuzura, never mentioned the wrongness, not that her nagging would have changed his habits. “I will not speak of our mission, here, and instead will brief you when we’re on our transport,” ushered the masked with a stern tone, no objections allowed or acknowledged. The sun’s heat blazed at the pair as they emerged out of the base. It did not harm the masked, however. Warmth merely tickled the covered skin with the wind breezes that somehow managed to worm itself under the clothes. But nothing changed the fact that the smaller one of the two remained dominant, seemingly the leader of the two. Shihakushi never spared a second to glance at its partner, paying no heed to show respect. On sight none would imagine the threat the two could possess, especially when they boarded the ship, were the locals paid no attention to the two strange clothed criminals. Departing into the wild ocean, Shihakushi tilted his head to the left, telling Takashi to follow his direction. It was far behind the steering on the upper deck. None were in their range to overhear their conversation. “I heard what you mentioned earlier. But we cannot risk to plan our ideas out in the hideout. It is not safe as you think.” The masked watched the see with interest as the rough waves crashed against each other while gently brushing the sides of the boat. “The patrols,” the masked began. “We need to watch them, closely. Unlike the other teams that work with more than two to three. We, you and I, will go after the Gobi. Tsuzura told me nothing much either. The only thing is certain: Gobi’s Jinchuuriki is seen to be as a heroine. Bringing down and capturing this heroine will be interesting to say at the very least. As well that we will influence these weaklings even more,” Shihakushi finally answered. With a bitter and grim undertone mixed with a mischievously glint of amusement. "As you wish, milord," Takashi responds without complaint, before following his master through the brilliant sunlight. As they climb onto the ship the silver-haired swordsman first thinks that the locals preparing the ship for launch were merely ignoring the pair of cloaked travelers. Soon though, he realizes that they were completely oblivious to their presence, despite being coerced to move around them against their will. It was obviously the work of his partner, but the means to do so eluded Takashi. Heeding Shihakushi's will they made their way to the upper deck of the ship. Here he carefully listened to the explanation with regard to their target, and the necessity to keep an eye out for organized patrols from various organizations. Without warning the ship began to rock more readily as it began to pull away from the dock. He hadn't noticed the crew finish its preparations during the lengthy explanation of his partner. "Understood, Shihakushi-dono," he responds, noting his master's apparent preference in efficient input on his part. While he maintained his composure completely, he was personally both worried and thrilled at the challenge that a bijū and its host would pose. While he had faced more than his share of monstrosities in the past, most of them paled in comparison to a tailed beast. Additionally, he noted a certain sense of enjoyment from his partner when he spoke of felling the heroine jinchūriki in question, a trait that generated a quick smirk on Takashi's face. Whether this look was of discontent or shared amusement was not clear, but the reaction itself occurred nonetheless. For a time the swordsman looks out across the horizon, before posing an inquiry to his lord once again. "In the meantime, Shihakushi-dono, is there anything you need of me?" Lifelessly the masked peered at the harbor and the beautiful, wild ocean. Glints of crimson shades illuminated in the fogging area that obstructed the long-distance view. These crimson orbs tore away from the rough waves that rocked the boat wildly to watch the silver-haired partner to bore into his eyes, seemingly as if the masked could see through his soul, and gladly voiced with the misshaped tone of him, “The oceans of the Night are the guardians to enter the island. Without its permission, none can survive, and those that do, will have a hard time to return. Anyhow, I’ll head down to venture for our cabin and prepare for the worst. Heed the warning, Takashi-kun, do not stay out too long out on the upper deck after I’ve left you here, alone.” With wobbling steps Shihakushi managed to reach the stairs that led him to the under deck to seek out their cabin. The moment the small figure stepped onto the first step of the stair, a knick of energy left his fingertips, breaking apart the illusion he had created, to prevent from being seen by the locals of the harbor. Leaving the Night remained unknown to the island and Sorane, other than Tsuzura and Takashi knowing of his movements. Descending down the stairs the masked rooted his feet on the wooden planks to refrain from falling or sliding of the rocking movements caused by the wrathful waves. At the end of the hall Shihakushi found their cabin, an extra luxury and large one that is. He tore off the cloak that had clung tightly around his figure due the water that had been splashed on him. Still, the hoodie and scarf had been ignored by the waters and remained to cover Shihakushi’s head. Climbing onto his choice of bed, the masked closed his eyes to rest, but by no meaning fell asleep. There were no eyes to watch out for him at this moment, not in this kind of situation, because they could not survive the harshness of these waters. Lowering his head as the masked shinobi made his way to the lower levels, Takashi spends a moment on the upper deck watching the waves. After several minutes of taking in the sea breeze the silver-haired shinobi follows suit, casually making his way into the ships lower levels. Verifying Shihakushi's presence at the end of the hall, he slips into one of the rooms in the adjacent hall. The enclosure wasn't anything especially impressive, in fact it looked as it was seemingly used for storage. Regardless, Takashi concludes that at least it was quiet, which would serve his purposes well enough. Taking a seat, and leaning up against a stack of barrels, he decides that getting some degree of rest would be beneficial. Lowering his eyes, yet keeping his senses keenly focused on the various individuals on the ship, Takashi starts considering potential tactics that could be employed against their target. A jinchūriki, and perhaps even a fully revived tailed beast, wasn't a challenge that could be taken lightly. Countless lives had been lost over the years in pursuit of the beasts. "Hmph...as if I'd let myself die against such an opponent," he thinks to himself before continuing his strategic planning. Encounter on the High Seas Several hours later, Takashi is roused from his rest as the ship's behavior seems to change without warning. At first it feels as if the course is radically altered, but then the vessel's movement comes to an abrupt halt. Amidst the gentle swaying the movement of the crew above deck had become much more erratic than usual. Curious about the situation at hand, Takashi carefully makes his way out of the room he had been staying in and carefully peers out onto the main deck. Carefully keeping his presence concealed, he listens to the chatter of the shipmates as they douse the light on the ship. Overhearing the claim that there is patrol from Kirigakure on a nearby sandbar, he decides to verify the situation by expanding his sensory capabilities. "So it's true," Takashi thinks to himself, "We need a change of plans, otherwise we'll be stuck on a trip that is much longer originally discussed." Considering the options he decides that the best option would be to abandon this ship and hijack whatever transportation the Mist-nin were using. With haste, he makes his way to his masked partner's room, hoping to explain the situation before the ship started retreating back toward a route that circumvents the Land of Water completely. Bitterness wronged the quietness of the masked. Tingles spread his fingertips as he caressed the crystallized beads that seemed to faintly glow, comfortably. The rocking boat did not affect the body of the masked while he could clearly hear the disgusting sounds nearby. But one of the beads began to grow brighter and eventually vanished from sight, replaced by a slick animal that gazed into the eyeholes of the masked. “Kyoueiyuui,” the masked muttered lowly as his eyes narrowed upon the pitch black eyes. “What brings you out of your cave?” In response the disgustful creature cackled, “But to be in your presence, my Master. Do not worry; I’ve no plans to ruin our little plan. That is unless you order me to do so.” With a deep sigh the masked twisted onto his side, and watched the flames flickering, as a distraction to avoid getting into a conversation with the slick creature. “That boy seems to be interesting at the least. I wonder how long it will last for him to discover what is hiding behind that beautiful mask of yours. I mean who knows how stunned he would be to uncover what those crims—”, with a smack of the back of the hand the creature flew across the room, against the wall and shook its head to regain its composure. “You’re irritated, hm. Interesting side to see, oh cold blooded and emotionless Master,” Kyoueiyuui would’ve smirked would those sharp looking teeth not be in its way. “I’ll leave you be for now then, it seems that you have company. But remember that Koinonayami-chan would’ve been a worse matter in your despair. ‘Till next time.” The creature named Kyoueiyuui disappeared in crimson ash and the bead returned to its original place within the bracelet that dangled around the wrist of the masked. Of course, Shihakushi traced it away with his outfit and the pale, thin wrist disappeared under the clothes. But it felt like a repeat of what happened early this day. A knock on the door of the familiar presence, and the same tone he used to call his partner in. “Come in, Takashi-kun.” As Takashi approaches the door, he senses a change in the air around his lord's cabin. It was almost as if a momentary presence had faded, but at the same time it felt like something else all together. Ignoring the sensation he moves to knock upon the cabin door, only to be halted by a raspy voice instructing him to enter. Following the directions he promptly enters the room. "Shihakushi-dono," he begins, lowering his head as he addresses his masked partner, "We have a bit of an issue. The crew has spotted a patrol from Kirigakure nearby, which I've confirmed." Turning his back to the masked individual, and carefully peering down the hallway, Takashi seems to have his focus stolen by something for a moment. "In any case, if we stay on this ship any longer we're could end up at sea for several more weeks," the silver-haired individual continues, "Though...the patrol is located on a nearby sandbar. They're more than likely to have a small vessel of some sort to use for their island hopping. Overtaking them should be easy enough, and then we can continue our voyage to the mainland. Time is of the essence, my lord, though the final decision belongs to you." In a humorous sense the masked muttered something inaudible under his breath. And within seconds Shihakushi stood next to his silver-haired partner cloaked and ready to ‘bombard’ the patrol of Kirigakure. He smirked triumphantly. “But of course we will bring down the patrol and give ourselves a ticket to board Kirigakure.” A sip of hatred crossed the words that came out of the masked mouth. “But we could also make them beg to stay alive, allow them to be just barely alive until we arrive, and then their lives will end,” Shihakushi said before he continued to walk past Takashi and into the hallway. “Are you coming Takashi-kun? Or are you going to continue to space out,” Shihakushi teased his partner, rarity to be witnessed or heard. But he did not wait for Takashi and continued his path towards the stairs that led up to the deck. And Shihakushi felt that the boat barely rocked any longer, which consulted him that the waters had calmed down, temporarily. It was a beautiful sight to be seen; the waters a shade of crystal-blue, while the horizon was a beautiful orange, red and multiple other tints and shades that colored the sky. It was truly breathtaking. Nonetheless, Shihakushi eyed the nearby sandbar Takashi mentioned. “I suppose that we are going to run over the waters? However, the ocean cannot be trusted at any means.” "Trust? Worry not, Shihakushi-dono, I don't have any such thing to spare," Takashi responds with a calm tone, despite the cold nature of his words. Stepping up onto the edge of the boat, he peers out across the the gentle crystalline waves. "They still haven't noticed the ship," he thinks to himself, raising his hood as he turns back to his partner. "Milord, I'll take the lead, please follow behind at your own leisure," he explains with a smile too peaceful for someone about to go into battle, "There's no reason for you to waste your time on opponents of this level." Without another word, Takashi leaps off the edge of the ship and begins bounding with great strides across the azure depths. Within seconds he's crossed the vast distance between the ship and the sandbar, rushing into the campsite like a veritable whirlwind. Without warning he sweeps past a lanky Mist shinobi from behind, pulling their sword from the ground beside them. Seamlessly after the acquiring the armament the swordsman rotates around, slamming the dull end of the weapon across the its former user's face. Turning his attention away from the shinobi he had sent sprawling across the sand, Takashi closes the gap between his next target; a tall, heavy-set, shinobi moving in to intercept the cloaked adversary. Drawing the blade halfway out of the sheath Takashi slams the hilt into the man's chest, causing him to double over. Flipping back he kicks the man with enough force to launch him into the air, sending him crashing into his tent. Not allotted a moment to rest, Takashi draws the blade completely as he deflects several shuriken thrown from the other side of the campfire. The source of the steel, however, quickly closes the ground, and Takashi is forced to carefully evades a vicious barrage of sword strikes from a dark-haired kunoichi. Flipping over his head as she delivers a flurry of strikes, Takashi is caught with his back to the chakra signature of an individual rapidly forming a water technique. Knowing he only has mere moments to act, the swordsman clashes blades with the kunoichi with a forceful enough swing to push her back a meter or so. Using this small window of opportunity, Takashi turns and throws the blade towards the would-be water user. Caught off guard, as he was furiously forming hand seals, the ninjutsu specialist is gashed across the shoulder by the impromptu projectile. Refocusing on the swordswoman, Takashi catches her wrist just as she was about to lower he blade through the hooded individual's skull. In an instant, he ensnares her in an illusion intense enough to cause her to collapse before him. Not given a moment to rest he is forced to dodge to the side as a lightning fast bullet of water launches past him. Leaping back, closer to the shore, Takashi narrowly avoids a massive water dragon from crashing on top of him; the rest of the patrol responds to his assault as an unearthly fog envelopes the sandbar. Such an innocent smile portrayed itself on the face of Takashi as he spoke with confidence to win a battle. Even to go as far to tell the masked to wait behind and to take his time to arrive the sandbank. “''I will take the lead on my own time then. But most for all…,” Shihakushi thought in his mind as he trailed these last, dangerous thoughts away, as he peered at the visible broken and fragile spots of the boat. Of all the genjutsu had been casted for this particular reason: to frame Kirigakure and to fuel the anger of the Night, to anger them, for them to engage themselves in a war. The genjutsu had camouflage the wooden boxes that had been carried onto the ship to be essential for food ware and other materials. But in all meaning these boxes were meant to be the end of this ship, to blow it up, with a single trigger that will be caused by the explosive tag that slipped into the fingertips of Shihakushi. With obvious movements the masked made his way to the mast and placed the explosive tag onto it. Scribbled below was another seal that was connected with the explosive on the deck. The ink spread out and made its way towards the wooden boxes. “Explode.” The masked murmured as he bounced away from the center onto the railing that was in the direction of the sandbank. With just one last glance behind, Shihakushi smirked entertained behind his mask, before jumping down from the railing to land on the crystallized waters. Immediately he presented to have another tag in his hand, a sealing tag, but not a regular one either. It clearly read “'Minor Class – II'”, before Shihakushi held it in front of him and began to chant the following words: “Brace with the suffering of separation. Bear with the pain of manifestation. Bring terror onto these foes. Show them the wrath of your anger!” An enormous creature slithered out from the tag as that dispersed into thin air. Shed as it ‘swum’ through the waters at rapid speed. It ignored the waves that became wild upon the impact of the explosions. With a sprint the masked followed behind the creature, its speed outmatching his own, while Shihakushi tried to keep up with it. It sprung out of the waters as it enclosed the sandbank and the celestial see-through body glittered as the crystal-blue water dripped down. Not a moment later the masked arrived on the location as well, unnoticed. He waited for the best moment to strike. And he waited until the beast followed its instinct to embed its body around the two water users. Summoning in his right hand Chingon – the ancient tool that can store souls away – seemed to be a necklace with an enormous crimson orb. In his left he held the ancient dagger Reikiri – an ancient weapon that can steal and seal souls away. “Do not kill them.” The masked commanded as the creature growled in hunger at them but abide the command. “I shall steal your very essence, Kiri Shinobi.” Without another word the dagger had been plunged into the stomach of the female water-user. Her screams of pain echoed in theirs ears as her soul continued to be absorbed. Completed with absorbing her soul, the masked held Chingon closer to Reikiri whom ‘created’ a chain-link with each other. ''“I had forgotten about that part. No wonder it agonized the woman. But the torment that Reikiri gave her, gave me a thrilled sensation.” “Upon the next one,” Shihakushi spoke with a malicious undertone. Reikiri had once again been stabbed into the stomach of the trapped male water-user. But less painful than the woman’s for as the Chingon immediately absorbed the soul from Reikiri, which is a torturing tool, as Shihakushi once referred it as. “Your services are no longer required. Disperse and go beyond the world of life.” Shihakushi riddled out at the celestial creature that slowly began to faint, and the man began to struggle against the Reikiri that had yet to complete its task. Those pleading eyes that begs for mercy. “''Despicable'',” thought the masked. Glinting eyes that watched the man with terrifying amusement – eyes that held no good – told something dangerous. “I’ll let you move on without completely draining you. It will be fun to know how long it will take before you die. After all, who can live with a part of their soul gone? May I add that these parts are completely gone.” And with that Shihakushi turned around, leaving the man helplessly, incapacitated and not to be worried for him to ounce the strength to attack the duo. Amidst the dense fog and heated combat Takashi ignores the dull sound of their prior vessel violently exploding. Closer at hand he senses a foul presence, followed shortly by his partner, leap from the sea and extinguish the lives of several of the shinobi on the beach. In doing so the mist covering the surrounds lifts and Shihakushi is revealed stand near several dead, or nearly dead, enemies wielding pair of strange items. While he had preferred to have the chance to analyze the items and their strange properties further, fortune was not on his side. As a final attempt at survival final pair of conscious shinobi fall from the sky, blades in hand, in an attempt to cut the masked assailant to shreds. Out of range to counter the kenjutsu combination physically, Takashi is relies upon his mastery of wind to conjure up a swirling construct of air around his partner. The pair of swordsman are inhibited by the barrier of wind and, upon Takashi's sudden expansion of the technique's size, are forced back several meters away from Shihakushi. Turning the tide on his opponents the silver-haired individual rushes forward, picking up a discarded shuriken as he dashes forward. Throwing the weapon just past his partner's head, the single blade multiplies to countless steel projectiles fly towards the pair of swordsman. In perfect sync the pair of Mist-nin both slam their free hand onto the sandy surface, generating a collaborated wall of water which deflects the incoming barrage of shuriken. Not allowing his opponents to mount their own counter attack, Takashi closes the ground between his enemies by the time their defense falls. Immediately, he engages the pair at close range, expertly evading their blows. Having achieved his goal of redirecting their attention from his partner, he decides that it would be best to make quick work of his foes. Positioning himself between the pair, and despite their multitude of attempted lethal attacks, Takashi manages to grasp one of the swordsman by the collar. In an instant he pulls the shinobi into the trajectory of his fellow Mist-nin's blade. Dropping the shinobi who had just been struck down by his own ally, Takashi steps forward toward the last opponent. With ease he silences the shinobi, who unable to defend himself following the stun of his mistake, with a powerful kick to the gut. After spying a small boat on the other side of the sandbar, Takashi turns back to Shihakushi and begins making his way to his partner's side. Shihakushi's View Kill them all, leave no witnesses and make '''them' suffer.'' I was very well aware that I told this myself the moment he left the boat. It was his mistake to tell me to take my own precious time. Because I had planned to destroy this transport even before we stepped outside the hideout. This was the very reason why I'd cast my 'everlasting' genjutsu to hide our presence from the citizen of the Night. But everything went according to my plans as I had planted the soon-to-be-detonating tags on different hidden places. The dense fog concealed my normal view to witness the act of Takashi. It felt too timed to obscure my visual senses to see the 'capabilities' of my partner. Nonetheless I could feel the imbalanced mixtures of the Yin and Yang of our foes ahead, my creature's and mine that is. I should rephrase myself, I can see two mixtures. And thus I stood on the edge of the railing with my “'Minor Class – II'”. “Brace with the suffering of separation. Bear with the pain of manifestation. Bring terror onto these foes. Show them the wrath of your anger!” I chanted with my echoing and mysterious voice. There, it, the creature, crawled and swum out of the special tag towards the waters and sandbank. It obeyed my silent command to 'devour' and immobilize the water users that were up ahead. The creature's elegance stunned me there for a long moment. Perhaps the sizzling of the explosion tag that I planted below me snapped me back into reality. Funny how these things of what I''' created can distract me so easily. Nonetheless, I ran on the waters and followed the celestial creature that headed towards the sandbank. Its attempt to attack did not last long as it strangled itself around the two water users. I needed more souls. Thus, I demanded that the spirit stopped its movements to devour these fools. It would be necessary to collect more of these handful sources to empower my creations and perhaps this beautiful and dangerous creature. With a mere tap on the dagger strapped and hidden under my cloak, I summoned '''Chingon, the ancient tool to absorb and seal souls into an endless storage. And with my devious and torturous side I harmed the female water user tremendously more than I would with her comrade. I craved to see those beautiful blue eyes to turn to a void grey. Completely lifeless when Reikiri had stolen away all of her life essence to feed Chingon separately. Alas, I waited for Takashi to defend me. Because I knew that he would prove himself to be a guard as he had said. Thus, I did nothing to the two approaching enemies that wanted to strike me down. And I was surprised to see wind circling around me as a barrier and forced the Swordsmen a few feet away of me. Nevertheless, I'd be lying if I did not outright smirk there and continued to watch the show with dire amusement. This amusement faltered away as I realized the most important feature of a battle, death. "Why did you not kill your enemies, Takashi?" I asked demanding when he approached me. It had somewhat amazed me that he did not kill his foes. But I will not tolerate these sorts of actions unanswered. No one will and neither will he or myself. Takashi's View After the conclusion of the so called battle, it seems I wouldn't be offered even a moment of respite. Without regard to me services during the skirmish, I was immediately questioned. This line of inquiry was not on whether or no I accomplished the job at hand, but rather the manner in which I handled my duty. I'd surely be lying if I claimed that the question was not an annoyance, but regardless of my personal feelings I maintained a composed appearance as stopped before my masked partner. "Why didn't I kill them?" I repeated, mulling over the manner in which I should respond. "I'm afraid you may be overestimating my abilities," I calmly began, sporting an upbeat look. Knowing that this would hardly pass as a satisfying answer, I continued in a more serious manner. "If I may be blunt, Shihakushi-dono, I honestly didn't see the point in wasting any extraneous effort on such low class opponents," I continued coldly, glancing around at the numerous defeated enemies on the sand, "Furthermore, I'm not particularly interested on dirtying my blade with the blood of such pathetic individuals." "If you didn't having anything else to request of me, Shihakushi-dono..." I began, hoping to continue on our excursion as soon as possible, "We should try to get of here as soon as possible. If we can catch the current, we should be able to reach the shore of the Land of Whispering Bones by sunrise." Without a word further, I began making my way to the boats. Hopefully, then I could separate myself from the events that took place here. Regular View With narrowed eyes the masked watched Takashi closely. The clouds shadowed the shimmering moonlight and enveloped around his figure. There, for several seconds, the moonlight broke through, and enhanced the redness of the masked. "I will let you away with it this time. After all, we usually don't leave any witnesses behind." With these few words the masked began to walk away from his partner towards the boat. Thus, Shihakushi sat down without troubles in their new transport. With soft and steady breaths the masked prepared himself to meditate. It was to connect the souls that were stored in Chingon with the 'broken' bracelet that was frozen in the middle of the air in front of him. But it was also to establish a 'bridge' between the Spiritual and Realistic World. To find''a new desperate soul to be in his collection. "As you wish, milord," Takashi responds, bowing his head as his masked partner walks by towards the small vessel. Following suit the silver-haired shinobi gives the boat a quick push, dislodging it from the sandy shore. Hopping in, Takashi collects the oars as the boat drifts away from the sandbar. Annoyed at the obvious realization that he'd be the sole individual piloting the vessel, Takashi sighed as he began to row. While the idea to jump ship was originally his idea, the situation at hand was not as favorable as he would have preferred. ---- Some time later, with the soft light of the morning sun peaking through the ghostly fog, the pair silently drift through the open sea. While the ocean itself was far from rough, the undulating waves had become more significant as the journey from the sandbar had continued. The truly pecuiliar state of affairs would be found not in the surrounding environment, but on board the boat itself. Despite being in such close proximity the pair of cloaked assailants had been all but silent since they're last fight. While such a site may be seen as odd to any onlookers, both parties on the vessel didn't seem particularly troubled by the circumstances. "Milord, I believe we're closing in on the mainland," Takashi claimed, though the dense mist in the surrounding area prevented the visual confirmation of any such claim. With that said the ship felt as if had be drawn into a predetermined pathway as it rocked suddenly, before picking up a significant amount of speed. The undulating force of the waves became much more present as the pair drifted along in the current. Pulling in the oars back into the boat, the silver-haired shinobi stretched out his arms before slumping down. "We should be landing within a few minutes, Shihakushi-dono," he explained, whilst lounging for a moment. The common motion sickness strikes again. But who would’ve thought that a dangerous and wanted man suffers from it. His tummy felt weird and with a quick maneuver he leant over the railing of the boat, tilting his mask just a tiny bit, and floated out whatever wanted out. And the sun expressed the silhouette of a more feminine facial jawline and face shape, while also baring those shimmering red eyes. But after doing so, Shihakushi drawled back to his seat, and sighed deeply after placing the mask properly back on his face. “I hope we do,” his voice softer and less demanding than usual. It felt more delicate and fragile, but that might also be of the bad tummy. Not interested in watching his partner get seasick, Takashi only catches a slight glimpse of his partner's silhouette. Despite the image he thinks he sees, and the surprisingly soft sound of his partner's voice, Takashi decides not to speculate as the boat makes its way into the shallows of the mainland. Scanning the area for potential threats, the silver haired shinobi casually steps out of the boat and walks across the surface of the water onto the rocky shore. "If I had to guess...this is the coast of the ," he begins to explain, carefully peering around the immediate vicinity, "If we stay within these borders as we travel north, we can avoid dealing with shinobi from both Konoha or Suna." Bijū Rampage The horizon had gone under, leaving behind the shadows to clutter the landscapes. Within the darkness a giant white figure prowled around the lands. It felt uneasy. It, better known as the Five-Tailed Beast, lowly growled under the moon. And there, Shihakushi watched together with his partner the movements of the beast, as their signature had been concealed by a simple technique. Their smell distinguished by the nature, amplified by the concealment with the use of energy. So Shihakushi crawled out of their hiding spot, jumping on the tree branch to take a better look at the demon. It was the demon that they had to hunt and capture. But not for the organization, no, it was for Shihakushi himself. All the demon beasts would have belonged to him. Sorane didn’t know of that yet, only their leader does. And the masked man cared less, because he was power hungry, and their power is essential to him. For that, Shihakushi revealed himself to the moonlight, which illuminated the hideous figure from the shadows. Neither did this go unnoticed to the tailed demon that immediately snapped its head towards the masked. It snarled loudly, growling harsh under its breath. Within its mind to not go down by humans again, as it had been before. And Shihakushi merely stood there, unmoved by the beast’s behavior. “Deal with it, Takashi.” "I always took you for someone with more subtlety," Takashi responds sarcastically, hopping to the top of the tree. Leaping across the canopy, he quickly makes his way towards the beast's left flank. Seemingly responding to the swordsman's advance, the beast assimilates and concentrates a massive amount of chakra in the form of a sphere. Initially, Takashi is startled by how quickly the Five-Tails was resorting to using the , but is quickly baffled as it's launched at Shihakushi rather than himself. While far from the destructive epicenter of the resulting blast, the expanding shock wave is significant enough to buffet whilst he stands atop the trees. "''Hmm...I wonder if Shihakushi-dono was prepared for that?" Takashi thinks to himself briefly, returning his attention the beast itself, "Regardless, if I'm definitely going to be offended if I'm ignored that much in favor of some guy in a mask." Quickly attaching an to a kunai the hooded shinobi closes some of the distance between himself and the beast before hurling the combination projectile. Moments before the explosive hits the mark, Takashi the single missile is barrage of explosives. The beast, carefully looking over the well of destruction in the hope of confirming its kill, is blindsided by the countless explosives. Despite being staggered by the blow the Five-Tails is mostly unharmed by the assault and quickly turns its gaze upon the cloaked shinobi. In its rage the beast lets out a monstrous cry, with emanates across the surroundings as a powerful shockwave. Closer to the epicenter the force is significant to level trees, though at Takashi's distance it manifests as a powerful gale of wind. "Not bad...Bijū are on a whole other level," he comments, impressed as his hood being blown off by the wind. After withstanding the battle cry he draws his blade from his back and begins charging forward towards the creature, leaping from treetop to treetop. The Five-Tails follows suit, rushing towards the shinobi with a great haste. Just as Kokuō comes crashing through the forest, and dangerously close to trampling the swordsman, Takashi leaps up vertically with the aid of an illuminated platform. Vaulted high above the beast, he rotates his body around in midair to launch a volley of wind blades from his sword. The sharpened crescents of air strike the creature multiple times upon its back, but despite drawing blood are too shallow to cause any significant damage. "Tch, you really are tough," Takashi murmurs, landing behind the beast on the path it carved, "In that case I'll have to step it up." Raising his sword above his head, just as the beast begins another attack run, the silver-haired swordsman begins to collect both natural and chakra based wind onto his blade. After collecting a substantial enough concentration of energy onto his weapon he releases the wind composite in the form of a massive shock wave. The force of the assault is enough reduce the the trees in the path of the technique to splinters and sawdust, and manages at least halt the Five-Tails charge. Not wanting to lose the brief advantage his technique awarded, Takashi slashes his blade across the ground before moving in towards the slightly disoriented beast. Performing an elaborate sword maneuver alongside two , the swordsman attacks the bijū's head from multiple angles. Snapping back into full consciousness the Five-Tails quickly eliminates the clones with a violent swing of it's head, but is left open to a blow across its left eye by Takashi himself. Writhing in pain, Kokuō raw strength forces the silver-haired shinobi to warp back to his prior location to prevent being caught up in the destruction. "That was close, too close," he thinks to himself as the beast topples over itself, blood running down the side of its head from the simple, yet well aimed, slash. Standing back up, the Five-Tails quickly finds its target and begins to charge another bijūdama. "Right on queue," the swordsman solemnly smirks, holding his blade out in front of himself. Standing firm as the massive concentration of chakra is launched at him, Takashi performs a unique set of hand seals incorporating his sword. Just as the creature's assault would have annihilated him, the space before him seems to be distorted as the bijūdama is seemingly drawn into a void. In the next instant Takashi releases the technique upon a seal he placed on the creatures eye when he cut the beast earlier. The bijūdama explodes with all of the magnificent force it was known for, engulfing the area in such a brilliant light and destructive force that the cloaked shinobi surrounds himself in two layers of defensive techniques. Lowering his protective measures as obliteration subsides, Takashi can't help but sigh in relief at the sigh of the Five-Tails laying motionless about a hundred meters away from him. "That was more than I bargained for," he thinks to himself, breathing heavily as he pulls himself to his feet and makes his way across the crater to the beaten and bruised monstrosity. Eventually, he came to stand before Kokuō, who was slow breaths were still enough to kick up dust in the area. Seemingly hearing him approach, the beast manages to open is one good eye and manage to stare at the swordsman who it to the ground. For a moment the pair merely looked at each other in silence, both parties exhausted by the fight. Despite it's unreal power, Takashi couldn't help but to feel sorry for the creature as he gazed upon it. This pathetic beast, older than the shinobi villages themselves, would continue to be enslaved and treated as a weapon as long as it lived. The swordsman recalls bijū whose human hosts were killed wouldn't die, but would instead disappear for a time. Later, their chakra would seemingly amalgamate and they would take form once again. It result would likely be the same if the beast would die on its own, cursed to reawaken at a later date. "Hmph, I wonder if they same hold true if you were to meet your end by this weapon," he wonders aloud, slowly raising his sword up. "Please don't take it personally," he continues, as the creature looks on in silence as the swordsman's blade begins to shine brightly, before being lowered towards the Five-Tails. "...I'm sorry." Category:Torment's Game